Hilltops coach vows to 'make it right' after player injured in clubhouse punishment gone wrong

A Saskatoon Hilltops player was hospitalized after losing consciousness while he was taped to a pole in the team's clubhouse last month, leading to a police investigation and the suspension of two players

The Saskatoon Hilltops’ head coach says he is angry and embarrassed about an incident that resulted in a police investigation after an 18-year-old player lost consciousness while taped to a pole in the team’s clubhouse last month.

The two players responsible were “suspended indefinitely” after the “unacceptable” Oct. 14 incident, and expressed remorse when they visited their injured teammate in the hospital later that night, Tom Sargeant said Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s embarrassing when something like this takes place,” Sargeant said. “It’s something that should never happen to any young man, in any facility across Canada … I’m very upset with the whole thing.”

The incident happened around 8:30 p.m. after one of the team’s practices at its Kilburn Avenue facility. According to a player who was in the clubhouse at the time and who spoke to a reporter on condition of anonymity, it began with a member of the Hilltops telling a tasteless joke.

Other members of the team, as punishment for the joke, taped him to a pole. The player, hanging from the pole, choked on tape around his neck and lost consciousness, at which point paramedics were called.

Saskatoon police opened an assault investigation after they were called to the practice facility by MD Ambulance around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 14, according to police spokeswoman Kelsie Fraser.

MD Ambulance spokesman Troy Davies said paramedics took the player to hospital in stable condition. Davies added that he couldn’t release any additional details about the player or his injuries due to privacy laws.

Police concluded that the two alleged assailants had no intention of causing injury and closed the file about a week later, after the injured player asked that they not pursue the matter, Fraser said.

“Now, if at any point the victim wanted to pursue charges, we would reopen the investigation and look into it further,” Fraser said, adding that conducting an investigation is extremely difficult if the alleged victim does not provide a statement.

Fraser would not confirm the involvement of anyone associated with the Hilltops, but added in an email, “There’s information in the (police) report to suggest that Hilltops staff were aware of the incident when we responded.”

The player who was in the clubhouse said two team members have been suspended for the rest of the season as a result of the incident. Sargeant said the two players have not played since the incident.

The Hilltops are scheduled to play in their third consecutive Canadian Bowl in Victoria, B.C. on Nov. 12 after beating the Calgary Colts in the Canadian Junior Football League’s Prairie Football Conference final last weekend.

Sargeant, who was not present at the facility when the incident took place, said he took swift steps to deal with the injured player and his family before later expressing his concern to the team.

“I certainly talked to my leadership group about the expectations, and talked to the whole team about what the future will look like at any time inside our walls. That’s just what I believe in,” he said.

Reached by phone on Wednesday, Hilltops president Eric Nimilowich said he had no comment and referred The Saskatoon StarPhoenix to a lawyer. The lawyer said the team did not have an official comment on the matter.

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